Ways to Give
Making Gifts and Giving: Planned/Deferred
Gifts
Making a lasting difference
Pension
Protection Act of 2006
Congress took important steps to strengthen America’s
retirement system while encouraging additional charitable giving.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 still offers you new opportunities
for tax-free charitable giving to the Holy Cross Hospital Foundation.
You may contribute funds if:
- You are 70½ or older.
- The gifts do not total more than $100,000 per year.
- You make the gift on or before December 31, 2007.
- You transfer the funds directly from an IRA or Rollover IRA.
You make the gift to a public charity. This includes to the Holy
Cross Hospital Foundation, but excludes gifts made to charitable
trusts, donor advised funds and supporting organizations. Don't
wait, act now and let us know how we can help. |
We encourage our donors and friends to consider the many benefits of
planned or deferred giving. As you look over the brief descriptions
that follow, you will note that including Holy Cross Hospital in your
estate and financial planning can allow you to fulfill your long-term
philanthropic goals while realizing important benefits for yourself,
your family, and/or your business.
Planned giving requires more careful deliberation
because it involves making a gift from your assets: stocks, bonds,
mutual funds, retirement accounts, life insurance policies and real
estate or personal property (such as jewelry and art). In addition,
many types of planned gifts provide immediate or deferred benefits
to you or your heirs so we encourage you to speak with your professional
advisors before committing to a planned gift.
Our professional staff is available to help you or your financial and
legal advisors identify the most advantageous ways for you to make your
contribution. Whatever type of planned gift works best in your personal
circumstances; know first and foremost that your gift allows you to
be a lasting partner in the Holy Cross Hospital mission and legacy.
Persons making charitable bequests or other
types of deferred gifts automatically become members of the Guardian
Circle of Holy Cross Hospital, our recognition
society. Please tell us when you have made a planned gift to the
hospital so we can add your name to our growing list of forward-thinking
donors.
Bequests: Your last gift may be your biggest
gift
Many people can make a more significant gift
through their will or living trust than they can during their lifetime.
Charitable bequests don’t cost you anything
and can be revoked or changed while you are alive. You can specify that
Holy Cross Hospital receives a specific dollar amount, specific securities
or other property, a specific percentage of your estate, or as is typical
of charitable bequests, a portion of whatever remains after other specific
bequests have been satisfied. In addition, your estate is reduced
by the full amount of your charitable contribution.
Our full legal name and address for this purpose is:
Holy Cross Hospital Foundation of Silver Spring
11801 Tech Road
Silver Spring, Maryland 20904
Charitable Gift Annuities
Using appreciated securities
or cash to fund a charitable gift annuity provides very meaningful benefits
to the donor because a percentage of your gift is paid back to you each
year for the rest of your life.
It’s a simple agreement between you and Holy Cross-Hospital whereby
your give cash or stock in exchange for a charitable gift annuity. Based
upon your age and the date of the gift, the Holy Cross Hospital Foundation
will agree to pay you between 5 and 9 percent of the gift value for
your (or your and another person’s) life. The tax benefits include:
- No capital gains taxes on gifts of appreciated stock
- Partial tax free payments
- Guaranteed payments for life
- Significant gift to benefit Holy Cross Hospital
Other Types of Current/Deferred or Planned Gifts
Life Estate Reserved
Persons may donate their home or vacation
home to Holy Cross Hospital but reserve the right to live in the
donated property for the rest of your life, or the life of another person. You
receive an income tax deduction in the year of the gift plus additional
benefits. Should you decide later that you no longer wish to occupy
the property, you can either give or sell your real estate interest
to Holy Cross Hospital for additional tax benefits.
Life Insurance
You can make a significant contribution to Holy Cross Hospital without
a large impact on your current financial situation by naming us as
the beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy.
If you make Holy Cross Hospital the owner of the policy, you may
also receive a current income tax deduction equal to the policy’s
cash surrender value. And if you continue to pay premiums on the
policy, you may receive an additional tax deduction for those payments.
Retirement Assets
Qualified retirement plans, such as defined-benefit plans, profit-sharing
plans, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, Keogh accounts, and individual retirement
accounts (IRAs), receive favorable income tax treatment while funds
remain in the plan. Upon distribution to the owner or transfer after
death, however, these assets are taxed heavily under both the income
and estate tax systems.
When you name a qualified charity, such as Holy
Cross Hospital, as beneficiary of funds in your retirement account,
that amount is fully deductible for estate tax purposes. In addition,
a charity is not subject to IRD (income in respect of a decedent)
taxes. In short, naming one or more charities as a beneficiary under
your retirement account will ensure that the full, fair market value
of these assets is used to fulfill your charitable intent, which leaves
other assets not subject to IRD to benefit your other beneficiaries.
Ask your plan administrator for a “change of beneficiary” form,
which will allow you to list Holy Cross Hospital as a first, second
or final beneficiary of a fixed percentage of the account.
Under current law, retirement funds cannot be
transferred directly to a charity during the owner’s lifetime without payment of income
taxes. In some cases, such as during the current window of time provided
through the Pension Protection Act, one can donate specific amounts
from their retirement plans/IRAs, providing they meet certain requirements. Please
contact us if we can provide you with more detail.
Bank Account in Trust
You can make a ‘cash bequest’ too
by opening or titling an existing bank or brokerage account or certificate
of deposit in trust for Holy Cross Hospital. These are sometimes known
as “payable
on death” or “transfer on death” accounts. You retain
complete control over the funds or assets in the account while you
are living (and for this reason there is no current income tax deduction).
What ever remains in the account at your death is transferred automatically
to Holy Cross Hospital without going through probate, and your estate
receives a charitable deduction for the gift.
Charitable Trusts
Charitable trusts are one way that you
may receive income for life or a term of years in exchange for a
donation to one or more charitable beneficiaries. As part of
a well thought out estate plan under the supervision of tax, estate
and financial counsel, the benefits to all parties can be very rewarding.
- Charitable trusts can minimize capital gains or inheritance taxes
for you or your heirs
- They can provide for a sizeable deferred gift to one or more charities
- You may fund charitable trusts with cash, securities, real estate,
retirement funds, business interests, and other assets.
A charitable remainder trust, in general:
- Is a form of giving that may be established either during your
lifetime or upon your death (as a testamentary trust).
- The trust holds assets that you have contributed and pays you and/or
another designated income beneficiary a fixed or variable income depending
on the type of trust you establish.
- You receive a current income tax deduction based on the present
value of the remainder charitable interest, and the asset is removed
from your estate.
- While your contribution to the trust is irrevocable, you may change
charitable beneficiaries if you reserve the right to do so.
- Upon the death of the last income beneficiary, the trust corpus
(remainder) is available to the named charity or charities.
A charitable lead trust, in general:
- Provides income to one or more charities for a fixed period of
years or the lives of specified individuals
- The remainder is distributed back to the donor or other heirs after
payments to charity have ceased.
While our professional staff is always available to assist you with
charitable gift planning, it is important that you consult with your
own tax, financial and legal counsel before making a planned or deferred
gift. Please let us know if we can provide referrals to local experts
in these areas.
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For
more information, please contact the Holy Cross Hospital Foundation
office at 301.754.7130. |
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